There Goes The Season

It’s only July and Buffalo’s season is already ruined. Kiko Alonso tore his ACL and will not play this year. Right now, they’re talking about Preston Brown, their third-round draft pick. Here’s the problem: Buffalo is in a 4-3 this year. Brown, like Brandon Spikes, is a slow (4.8 40), run-stuffing linebacker. As a middle linebacker, Brown has good potential, and his upside is basically Brandon Spikes. As a weak-side linebacker going up against tight ends or slot receivers, Brown’s probably not a very good choice. Unfortunately, Buffalo doesn’t have many options available to them: Brown is a downhill, MLB type; Keith Rivers is probably locked into one of the two OLB spots; Nigel Bradham is fast and has the measurables, but isn’t really good in coverage; Randell Johnson is a rookie who was terrible against coverage in college. Ty Powell was a 7th round pick last season (Seahawks) who has some potential. The Bills will probably try some combination of these four guys, but losing Alonso hurts a lot.

Current prediction: 6-10. That might change as we get closer to September, but I’m really not thinking this will be the year the Bills break .500.